The first question almost everyone asks about spousal support is how much. The honest answer, for permanent support in Virginia, is that there is no formula. What the statute calls "maintenance and support of spouses," and what most people call alimony, is decided by a judge weighing thirteen factors, and reasonable judges reach different numbers on similar facts.
That uncertainty is exactly why the analysis matters. Understanding what moves the number is the only way to know whether a settlement offer in front of you is fair.
Temporary support does have a formula. Permanent support does not.
This distinction causes more confusion than any other part of Virginia support law.
Pendente lite support is temporary support paid while the divorce is pending. Virginia courts commonly apply a presumptive guideline formula based on the parties' gross monthly incomes, with a different calculation depending on whether there are minor children. It is quick, it is roughly predictable, and a hearing can often be scheduled within weeks of filing.
Permanent support, awarded at the end of the case, has no formula at all. The court works through the statutory factors and exercises discretion.
People get badly misled here. A pendente lite award is not a preview of the final number. It is a stopgap calculated on a different basis, and final awards frequently land somewhere else entirely.
The thirteen factors
Virginia Code § 20-107.1(E) requires the court to consider all of the following:
- The obligations, needs and financial resources of each party, including income from pension, profit sharing and retirement plans
- The standard of living established during the marriage
- The duration of the marriage
- The age and physical and mental condition of each party and any special circumstances of the family
- Whether it is appropriate for a party to remain outside the workforce because of the age or condition of a child of the marriage
- The contributions, monetary and nonmonetary, of each party to the well being of the family
- The property interests of the parties, both real and personal, tangible and intangible
- The provisions made with regard to marital property under § 20-107.3
- The earning capacity of each party, including skills, education, training and the present employment opportunities for those skills
- The opportunity for, ability of, and time and costs involved for a party to acquire the education, training and employment to obtain the skills needed to enhance earning ability
- The decisions regarding employment, career, economics, education and parenting made during the marriage and their effect on present and future earning potential
- The extent to which either party has contributed to the attainment of education, training, career position or profession of the other party
- Such other factors, including the tax consequences to each party and the circumstances that contributed to the dissolution, as are necessary to consider equity
Which factors actually move the number
All thirteen must be considered. In practice a handful do most of the work.
Duration of the marriage is the strongest single predictor. Long marriages, generally those past the twenty year mark, are where undefined duration awards are most common. Short marriages rarely produce long support.
The income gap and earning capacity follow closely. Note that factor nine is about earning capacity, not current earnings. A spouse who is voluntarily unemployed or deliberately underemployed can have income imputed to them based on what they could reasonably earn. This cuts both ways and is litigated often.
Standard of living during the marriage sets the reference point. It is why two couples with identical incomes can see different awards.
Career sacrifice, factors eleven and twelve together, carries real weight in Northern Virginia. The spouse who moved for the other's posting, left a career to raise children, or funded a professional degree has a genuine claim rooted in the statute.
The adultery bar, and why it is not absolute
Virginia is one of the few states where marital fault still has a direct statutory consequence for support. Under § 20-107.1(B), no permanent maintenance and support shall be awarded from a spouse if there exists in that spouse's favor a ground of divorce under § 20-91(A)(1), which is adultery.
The exception matters as much as the rule. A court may still award support if it determines, from clear and convincing evidence, that denying support would constitute a manifest injustice, based on the respective degrees of fault during the marriage and the relative economic circumstances of the parties.
Two practical points. Clear and convincing is a demanding standard, above the ordinary preponderance standard used for most civil issues, and it applies both to proving the adultery and to the manifest injustice finding. And the bar applies to permanent support only. It does not bar pendente lite support.
Other fault grounds such as cruelty and desertion are not presumptive bars. They enter through factor thirteen and can affect amount and duration. Our grounds for divorce page covers how fault is proved.
The forms an award can take
- Pendente lite: temporary support during the case, set on the presumptive formula
- Rehabilitative: a fixed period designed to let the recipient obtain education, training or work experience and become self supporting
- Defined duration: support for a set number of years, long enough to bridge a gap without being indefinite
- Undefined duration: no fixed end date, continuing until terminated by death, remarriage, cohabitation or modification
- Lump sum: a single payment in lieu of ongoing support. Lump sum awards are not modifiable, which is sometimes the point
Which form you are arguing for shapes the whole case. It also determines what happens later, because the routes to ending an award differ by type. We cover those in when spousal support ends in Virginia.
Tax treatment changed in 2019
For divorce and separation instruments executed after December 31, 2018, spousal support is not deductible by the payer and not taxable income to the recipient under federal law. Older orders generally retain the prior treatment unless modified and the parties expressly adopt the new rules.
This is not a footnote. Under the old regime the deduction effectively subsidised support, letting the parties split a tax benefit. That subsidy is gone, which means a given gross number costs the payer materially more now than the same number would have in 2017. Any comparison to what a friend or relative paid before 2019 is misleading.
High income and self employed cases
Where income is variable, the fight is usually about the income figure itself rather than the factors. Bonus, commission and equity compensation normally call for multi year averaging. Self employment invites forensic review of business books, because personal expenses run through a business reduce reported income without reducing the lifestyle it supports. Above guideline cases turn on lifestyle analysis: what standard of living did the marriage establish, and what is required to approximate it.
These cases are evidence heavy and frequently involve valuation experts. See our high asset divorce page for how we approach them.
Support can be settled instead of litigated
Most support awards in Northern Virginia are agreed rather than decided by a judge. A negotiated number in a separation agreement gives both parties something litigation cannot: certainty. It also lets you trade terms a court cannot, for example a lower monthly figure in exchange for a longer duration, or security in the form of life insurance.
Virginia's court self help site offers neutral background on the process. What it cannot tell you is whether the number in front of you is defensible on your facts, which is the whole question.
Support and property division are decided together
Factor eight ties spousal support directly to the equitable distribution award. A spouse who receives income producing assets needs less support. A spouse who takes the house and its carrying costs may need more. Negotiating support in isolation from property is a common and expensive mistake.
Common questions
Is there a spousal support calculator for Virginia?
Only for temporary support. Pendente lite awards use a presumptive formula based on gross incomes. Permanent support has no formula and is decided on the thirteen statutory factors.
How long does spousal support last in Virginia?
It depends on the award. Rehabilitative and defined duration awards end on a set date. Undefined duration awards continue until terminated by death, remarriage, proven cohabitation or modification.
Does adultery automatically end spousal support in Virginia?
Adultery is a presumptive bar to permanent support under 20-107.1(B), but a court may still award support if denying it would constitute a manifest injustice, proved by clear and convincing evidence.
Is spousal support taxable in Virginia?
For instruments executed after December 31, 2018, spousal support is not deductible to the payer and not taxable to the recipient under federal law.
Get an assessment of your own case
Whether you are seeking support or defending against a demand, the analysis starts with an honest read of the thirteen factors applied to your facts. Randall J. Borden has handled spousal support matters throughout Northern Virginia since 1995. Request a confidential consultation or call 703-385-8722. Our spousal support page covers our approach in detail.